Occassional, but Mumbled
by merryfortune
Summary: [ pre-canon ] [ JinSaku ] Kusanagi takes Yusaku to visit Jin at the hospital. Yusaku is nervous. He doesn't know what to say to someone who has been in the same position as him due to the Lost Incident.


**Occasional, but Mumbled**

Yusaku was nervous. His hands shook and his mouth dried. He had been anticipating today. He had been thinking it over and over and yet, all that thought seems to have been in vain for he's forgotten all those strands of thoughts. Though, what he could recall was so muddled and cluttered that it would have been useless to even try to glean any sort of conversation from those tangles.

"Hey, Yusaku, you okay, bud?" Kusanagi asked.

He placed his hand on Yusaku's shoulder. "Y-Yeah." Yusaku replied in a small voice.

"C'mon, he's waiting, and it'd mean the world to us both if you don't bail so soon. Five minutes, please. At least say hi." Kusanagi begged him.

Yusaku took a breath. "No, it's fine. I'm just…" Yusaku rambled.

"Nervous, yeah, I imagine. I can't even… I never thought…" Kusanagi was now the one rambling and though his sentences remained unfinished, Yusaku knew exactly what he was saying, and he accepted all the sentiments graciously.

So, they stopped dawdling outside the hospital. Kusanagi led them through. He knew the layout like the back of his hand. The receptionist bade them welcome and seemed notably confused that Kusanagi Shoichi had come with an extra guest in tow. As they passed through the winding corridors, nurses said hello to them here and there. Yusaku was surprised, to be honest. He wasn't used to being noticed.

They didn't go to a designated room. They went to a courtyard instead and Kusanagi scanned it. Yusaku glanced around. He was looking for someone who looked at least a bit like the man he was with.

"Ah, found him. Thought so." Kusanagi said and he nudged Yusaku, so he'd look in the direction he was after. "Jin prefers the sunshine, but he overheats easy so under that tree is his favourite spot."

"Oh. I see." Yusaku replied.

"C'mon, I'll introduce you." Kusanagi said.

Yusaku nodded, unable to muster his voice.

Kusanagi gently led Yusaku to the spot where his brother sat, nurse nearby – just in case. She softened, briefly, when she saw Kusanagi but she hardened when she saw Yusaku. Kusanagi mumbled a few things to her; adjacent to the boys. She nodded and with some level of hesitance, scooted off.

Kusanagi glanced back to Yusaku, "Told her it was family matters. That way if you, uh, wanna discuss certain things with Jin, you can. And I'm happy to buzz off too, if you like. But not too far. Someone's got to be in arm's length in case Jin has an attack."

"I'm fine with you around, Kusanagi. I prefer it, actually. I wasn't, um, thinking of bringing anything too serious up." Yusaku replied.

"Ah. I see. That's probably good. Better." Kusanagi said.

"Nii-san…?" Jin murmured.

Kusanagi's back straightened. "Yeah, Jin?"

"Who is this?"

Yusaku turned to face Jin. Jin had the same coloured hair and eyes as Kusanagi; same sort of face too. He was clearly and obviously younger, rounder face and all that, whilst with his goatee and generally unshaven face, Kusanagi seemed way older. Jin had haunting eyes though; especially compared to his brother's eyes which were more carefree-seeming.

"I'm Fujiki Yusaku. I'm… I was apart of…" Yusaku glanced at Kusanagi. "I was part of the Lost Incident."

Jin's eyes widened. He then glanced at his brother. "How did you two meet up?" His voice was so quiet, Yusaku nearly missed everything he said. "A-Are others coming?"

"It's a long story, but we have time, I guess. You just can't tell anyone."

Jin's lips quirked. A not quite smile but there was laughter in his eyes. Yusaku thinks that he might be able to guess the sort of joke that Jin may have made if he was a little more pronounced of character.

Yusaku sat down and Jin stopped clutching onto his blanket. Kusanagi sat on the other side.

"The other four… we don't know who they are still. We're working on it. One of our other goals is to dig up information on the Incident. Identities, perhaps. But for now, we're going to keep weeding through what we find." Kusanagi explained.

"I see." Jin murmured.

"That's how we met, after all. Weeding through the riffraff." Yusaku said. He glanced at Kusanagi. "I don't know if he's told you – I hope he hasn't – but I'm Playmaker. My goal is to destroy the Knights of Hanoi, learn the truth of incident, and get closure. The Incident completely erased my past and I want to know things. Do I have a family? Are they worried about me? Was there no one at all?"

Jin placed his hand on Yusaku's. "I believe that there is someone out there for you."

"Thank you…" Yusaku replied.

Kusanagi smiled.

"I'm also glad you can still duel. I'm too scared too, nowadays." Jin murmured.

"I used to be like that, too. I still am, to be honest. Every duel feels like life and death. Even just master duels played with real cards. It terrifies me. I feel like if I even ponder the possibility of loss, I will be electrocuted. But, duelling is the only way to attack Hanoi. So, I have to take up the fight if I want to win what I lost back." Yusaku replied.

Kusanagi noticed that Yusaku's eyes had dilated. There were goose-bumps on his hands, they trembled, even. He wasn't lying. He genuinely was afraid.

"One day, we'll both be able to duel for fun, I hope." Jin mumbled.

"Maybe." Yusaku replied.

"I would like to." Jin said.

"I wish you good luck then."

"Thank you."

They went silent after that little exchange. Yet, they kept glancing at each other. Not furtively or nervously. Their kept flicking to and from: away from things, back to each other, and then away from themselves. It had a distinctive rhythm or pace to it, as though a conversation ensued but was merely silent and unspoken.

It made Yusaku feel better. He had been having all sorts of anxieties over this interaction after all. Worried over over what to say. Worried over what not to say, too. Now, he didn't need to say anything to be understood. He'd never had such a seamless connection to someone before. It was a shame that it was a bond born of mutual trauma but still, it was a comfort.

Jin seemed like a really wonderful and thoughtful person. He was every bit as sweet as Kusanagi had described him. Yusaku was glad that he could meet Jin and he hoped to stay in contact; even if it felt a bit awkward to him. After all, they may have had that shared experience, but Yusaku was still – ultimately – something of a stranger to both Jin and his older brother; despite the latter's alliance, of sorts, with him.

And as for Jin, it was comforting meeting someone who had been through the same as him. They may not be actively talking about it but still, meeting Yusaku did help broaden the perspective on it. It was nice. They had only just met – properly – and he already considered him a dear friend and companion.

Kusanagi was beginning to feel as though he were third-wheeling. The boys were quiet, holding each other's hands, and talking about things that he couldn't hope to understand. Still, it was nice. It was clear they understood each other rather deeply. He liked that. He was glad that they had both found a friend in each other.

Though, they seem to have found something incredibly meaningful in each other in this short amount of time. They were friends, yes, almost certainly. But their relationship seemed to have other potential as well, or so they both felt but did not relay. Even as they continued to glance at one another; communicating unspoken things as well as something aloud, occasional but mumbled.


End file.
